2008.10.15 Food pyramid features new kind of apple

After dinner, which was a bowl of coleslaw and a slice of whole wheat bread with sunflower seeds, David placed a washed apple next to my plate as I was reading a magazine.

“I already had an apple today. I ate it earlier while I was reading my book,” I said.

“It’s time to get out the food pyramid again so you can see chocolate isn’t on it and you need more than one fruit a day,” he replied.

Study after study says chocolate—dark chocolate—is good for this and that. Helps keep teeth strong. Slows aging. Lowers blood pressure. Lowers cholesterol. Surely it must be somewhere on the food pyramid by now.

I didn’t want another apple. And I didn’t even want a piece of chocolate. Not the Chocolove Dark Chocolate with 61 percent cocoa content or the even more potent Chocolove Dark Chocolate with 73 percent cocoa content.

Instead, I wanted to finish off the package of Newman’s Own Newman-O’s chocolate crème filled chocolate cookies. I have no self control when it comes to Newman-O’s. I can usually stop at three or four Newman’s Own Ginger-O’s, but the chocolate version of Paul’s sandwich cookies slays me. I am putty to its siren song.

And even though I didn’t write the ode that follows—it’s on the package of Newman O-s—I can understand the sentiment.

Ode to Newman-O’s

You might, m’lady

tweak my nose.

You could, m’lord

step on my toes.

But Heaven help

those poor bozos,

who try to filch

my Newman-O’s

I bought the cookies because they were on sale. They cost way too much at regular price so I grabbed them—it’s hard to pass up a bargain even when I know I’m flirting with five pounds on the hips.

Almost as soon as I got them home, buyer’s remorse set in and I tried to get them out of the house. First I bagged up nearly half of each package of cookies to share with David’s parents and aunts. And then I put the half-filled packages in a bag and set it on our entryway dresser, the last stop before leaving the house. I was going to bring the cookies to the kids participating in the Teen Read-A-Thon at the library Saturday.

But I totally forgot about them until I got home from work and wondered what the heck was in the bag on the dresser. Imagine my delight when I still had cookies in the house! The Newman-O’s lasted until Sunday afternoon.

I have to be nuts to even consider eating cookies—even ones made with organic flour and organic sugar and organic oil. My younger brother Mark was just diagnosed with diabetes and I figure genetics being what they are, I’m probably not far behind in joining the ranks of people with a finicky pancreas.

What is it about getting diagnosed that whips people into shape? Don’t we know all along how we should be eating and that we should be getting enough exercise and sleep?

Mark knows. He’s a massage therapist and well versed in living a healthy life. He once ran in the New York City Marathon and he’s run many 5K and 10K races. But life gets in the way sometimes and it takes a slap in the face diagnosis to make you stop eating four pounds of candy a week while watching movies.

Like with most studies on any one subject, there is a lot of variation in what they conclude and even what constitutes the substance under study.

Some consider dark chocolate anything with 35 percent cocoa content; for others it’s more than 65 or 70 percent. That’s what I learned poking around on the Internet.

But the most exciting bit of information I came across was Dr. Weil’s Anti-Inflammatory Food Pyramid. Guess what’s right up there on the top?

GAMES DAY—Finn Molitierno (right) celebrates a goal during a game of Nok Hockey with his sister, Kyla. The two tried out a variety of games Saturday at Stair District Library’s annual International Games Day event. One of the activities featured a sort of scavenger hunt in which participants had to locate facts presented in the Smithsonian Hometown Teams exhibit. The traveling show left Morenci’s library Tuesday, wrapping up a series of programs that began Oct. 2. Additional photos are on page 7.

STRANGE STUFF—Morenci Elementary School students learn that blue isn’t really blue when seen through the right color of lens. Volunteer April Pike presents the lesson to students at one of the many stations brought to the school by the COSI science center. The theme of this year’s visit was the solar system.

MAPLE leaves show their fall colors in a puddle at Morenci’s Riverside Natural Area. “This was a great year for colors,” said local weather watcher George Isobar. Chilly mornings will give way to seasonable fall temperatures for the next two weeks.

MORENCI Marching Band member Brittany Dennis keeps the beat Friday during the half-time show of the Morenci/Pittsford football game. Color guard member Jordan Cordts is at the left. The band performed this season under the direction of Doyle Rodenbeck who served as Morenci’s band director in the 1970s. He’s serving as a substitute during a family leave.

MOVING EAST—Utility workers continue their slow progress east along U.S. 20 south of Morenci. New electrical poles are put in place before wiring is moved into place.

A PERFORMER named Biligbaatar, a member of the AnDa Union troupe from Inner Mongolia, dances at Stair District Library last week during a visit to the Midwest. The nine-member group blends a variety of traditions from Inner and Outer Mongolia. The music is described as drawing from “all the Mongol tribes that Genghis Khan unified.” The group considers itself music gatherers whose goal is to preserve traditional sounds of Mongolia. Biligbaatar grew up among traditional herders who live in yurts. Additional photos are on the back page of this week’s Observer.

HOLDEN HUTCHISON gives a hug to a black bear cub—the product of a taxidermist’s skills—at the Michigan DNR’s Great Youth Jamboree. The event on Sunday marked the fourth year of the Jamboree. Additional photos are on page 12.